Rescued Loon Dammit Spotted Healthy on Brant Lake
A loon rescued from a fishing lure in 2025 was re-sighted alive and banded on a New York lake in August 2026.
Updated on Oct. 31, 2026 in Wildlife
Dammit, a loon found tangled in a fishing lure on Mill Pond in late October 2025, was rehabilitated and released on Lake Champlain. On Aug. 7, 2026, a photographer identified her on Brant Lake by her leg bands.
Why it matters
The re-sighting offers a follow-up on the outcome of a wildlife rescue in the Adirondacks region of New York, showing a rehabilitated loon surviving months after release. It also highlights the hazards fishing tackle poses to loons.
Dammit was netted and freed from a large fishing lure with two treble hooks, then spent 11 days at the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences. Her rehabilitation included consuming more than 80 brook trout and regaining 25% of her body weight, but it remains unclear whether she will return to breed on Brant Lake.
The players
Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences (VINS)
A wildlife rehabilitation center in Vermont that cared for Dammit for 11 days before her release.
Griffin Archambault
The individual who identified the banded loon photographed on Brant Lake as Dammit.
The details
Rescuers canoed to Mill Pond, where Dammit had been swimming on her side after falling more than 8 feet over a concrete dam, and removed the lure caught between her right side and foot. She was treated for a coccidia infection and wounds before being banded and released on Lake Champlain at Port Henry beach.
Timeline
Late October 2025: Dammit found on Mill Pond with the fishing lure caught on her.
Autumn 2025: Dammit released on Lake Champlain at Port Henry beach after 11 days of rehabilitation at VINS.
Aug. 5, 2026: Photographer observes five loons, one banded, interacting on Brant Lake.
Aug. 7, 2026: Banded loon is photographed taking flight on Brant Lake and identified as Dammit.
Wildlife Trajectory
Dammit's case follows the pattern of rehabilitation programs like VINS releasing birds at distant sites, a practice that tests whether released wildlife can return to the region. Her re-sighting on Brant Lake, roughly 85 days after the anniversary of her release, offers a documented example of a loon recovering and surviving the fishing gear that often injures waterbirds.
Anglers in the Adirondacks and other New York waters are reminded that discarded or lost fishing lures can entangle loons and other birds, causing injury and starvation. Dropping lures in local lakes and ponds can put wildlife at risk, so using lure-retrieval practices helps protect the region's loons.
The takeaway
Dammit's recovery shows that loons can survive serious injury when rescued quickly and rehabilitated well, but it also underscores how easily discarded fishing tackle can turn a healthy bird into an emergency. Anglers can reduce this risk by retrieving lost lines and lures from the water.
Further reading
Explore more New York Wildlife coverage for context on the state's loon and waterbird populations.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Adirondack Explorer.
